Thursday's New Day on CNN spotlighted President Obama's latest push for gun control, and lamented how "gun issues got just a mention in this year's State of the Union," compared to last year's post-Sandy Hook address. Anchor Kate Bolduan underlined how supposedly "gun control is expected to dog him [Obama] while he's on the road."
Correspondent Brianna Keilar later asserted that "in 2013, it was one of President Obama's – probably, one of his biggest disappointments – a failure to advance a gun bill. And that issue is front and center today, even as he's pushing his populist economic agenda." [MP3 audio available here [1]; video below]
Keilar led her report with her "biggest disappointments" line, moments after Bolduan introduced the segment with her "expected to dog him" prediction. The CNN journalist picked up where the anchor left off by playing up an apparent accidental shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, one of the stops on the President's latest excursion around the country to promote his agenda:
BRIANNA KEILAR: President Obama is promoting his go-around-Congress economic message from the State of the Union address. But as he pitches his plan, the issue of gun violence is following him to Nashville, where he's scheduled to tout new public-private partnerships today at a high school reeling after a student was killed by gun violence Tuesday. A 17-year-old student is charged with killing his 15-year-old friend inside this apartment building. Witnesses told police that the shooter was playing with the gun when it discharged.
The correspondent continued by playing up the smaller amount of time the chief executive devoted to the gun control issue in this year's State of the Union address, compared to last year's:
KEILAR: Last year, gun control was front and center at Obama's State of the Union.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (from 2013 State of the Union address): The families of Newtown deserve a vote.
KEILAR: But after a failed vote in Congress to expand background checks-
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN (from proceedings on the Senate floor): The amendment is not agreed to.
KEILAR: Gun issues got just a mention in this year's State of the Union.
OBAMA (from 2014 State of the Union address): I intend to keep trying – with or without Congress – to help stop more tragedies from visiting innocent Americans in our movie theaters; in our shopping malls; or schools, like Sandy Hook. (audience applauds)
Keilar spent the last portion of her report on Obama's economic agenda, but she returned to gun control as she closed out the segment:
KEILAR (on-camera): The White House says President Obama will continue his trip as scheduled today; that his message will be the same as far as we know, Kate. No word yet on how it may affect his remarks – if he is going to reference the student from this high school he's visiting who was killed on Tuesday.
— Matthew Balan is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Matthew Balan on Twitter. [2]